Valentine's Day 1st Annual Hatch Along

[chickkrakidd]

Also, anyone have an idea of how to check humidity other than a hygrometer? (I think that's the right -meter) I'm kinda worried it may be too dry in my room as I'm downstairs& have gas heat. Sometimes when I wake up my lips will be almost dried together!! I have a humidifier tho& it will be on 24/7 starting tomorrow until day 24 or so. (Just in case there r some late hatchers) they'll also be in my closet as the temp stays pretty constant there.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I have been planning to do this HAL for a month now and my chickens still haven't started laying again yet. I'm really bummed out. Even if by some miracle they start again I won't have very many eggs to work with. I guess I should have ordered some.

oh well.

I just had a client of mine call me and say she was bringing me some silver apple yard duck eggs on Thursday. That would put me about 5 days to late for the V-Day hatch, but if you don't mind I would still like to join in the fun. I've never hatched ducks before.

The apple yard ducks are very appealing to me. Once I get all settled down on what breeds I want for chickens and turkeys, I'll be starting in with choosing the duck breeds. So far khaki ducks are out. Great layers but just like the production chickens, they are not my favorites. For now the possible breeds on the duck list is mallards, snow mallards, silver apple yards, runners,and maybe an Aflac duck for meat.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Here are the set dates again...you can also find them in the first post on the thread.

Chicken eggs Jan 24th
Muscovy duck eggs January 10th
Coturnix Quail eggs Jan 27th
Goose eggs Jan 14th
Duck,turkey,pheasant Jan 17th
Guinea Fowl Jan 19th

i should be setting trader joe eggs and whole foods eggs depending on what i find fresh when i go down there this weekend. Also if anyone living in michigan btween/around greenbush to rochester hills that would like me to pick up some trader joe or whole foods eggs for you to hatch let me knwo, i am more then happy too!! Or if you need anything else moved, i am making the trip on saturday and setting my eggs saturday night. Tomorrow 4 more frizzle/frazzle cochin eggs go into lockdown leaving 14 khaki campbell eggs in the bator with a turner so that means i can fit 34 trader joe/whole foods eggs. So that will be my attempted hatch for v-day. Khaki campbells should hatch on the 3rd.

Next on the list Black Javas and OEs.

 

[HerbGir1972]

From left:
Olive egger, barred rock, cuckoo maran, sex link, silkie, lav orpington
All mixed with Black Bantam Cochin

Our grab bag
Hens ppr, slw, hrir, auaucanaxrir easteregger.
Apparantly all roos may be participating now. WCB polish, 2 ee's
So i guess we'll rell diffetences by who has a crest.

We're already setting up March's hatch, hoping to have a dozen sex link off our first chicken ever.

 

[StephensonC]

I want in!!! This will be my first hatch-a-long so, someone please tell me what I need to do except for setting my eggs on the 24th. I will be setting Lavender Ameraucana eggs from a breeder and I'm going to set a few from my "I don't know what she is". I was told she was a Lavender Orp but it's clear she is not. She looks more like a Blue Wyandotte. Her eggs are fertile with my OEG Bantam rooster. This will be my first attempt at hatching her eggs, so I'm excited to see how they turn out. It will be my 3rd hatch in 3 months...lol I just can't stop!! I'm sure lots of you have the same problem.

 

[emvickrey]

I'll be hatching mostly eggs from my silkies and some orp I bought from another breeder. One of the other breeders birds stopped laying. Well the ones I wanted eggs from and the other person I haven't heard from yet. I'm getting worried about those. I'll still get my eggs from the one breeder they will just be later whent hey pick back up. So I'll be setting more eggs from my pens than I planned.

 

[chickkrakidd]

I want in!!! This will be my first hatch-a-long so, someone please tell me what I need to do except for setting my eggs on the 24th. I will be setting Lavender Ameraucana eggs from a breeder and I'm going to set a few from my "I don't know what she is". I was told she was a Lavender Orp but it's clear she is not. She looks more like a Blue Wyandotte. Her eggs are fertile with my OEG Bantam rooster. This will be my first attempt at hatching her eggs, so I'm excited to see how they turn out. It will be my 3rd hatch in 3 months...lol  I just can't stop!! I'm sure lots of you have the same problem. 

Other than setting the eggs, the only other thing u need to do is sit back and relax. (Good luck with that LOL) but feel free to show pics of the eggs!! Now, when u candle them& all the way through!! This is my first HAL too& the first time I've ever set eggs!! I'm really excited!! Btw... WELCOME TO THE V DAY HAL!!!!

 

[emvickrey]

I joined an Easter hatch along a few years ago and I filled 3 bators. One and a half where all cortunix. When they started to hatch it raised the humidity so high most of them drowned. Same happened in the bator that was full of chicken eggs. I ended up with about a dozen quail and 3 chicken chicks. A huge disappointment. I'm just using one bator and it won't be completely full. I usually do staggared hatches from spring to late summer and the most I have hatching at one time is about a dozen. I use one bator for a hatcher and one for incubation.

 

[ChickyChickens]

So wait...setting day is on Saturday right?? Need to get my eggs ready !

 

[jennianne]

I'm setting all shipped eggs for this hatch from two sources and both batches arrived today! One was not packed so well and 4/13 are cracked/broken, BUT it is a mix and of the surviving eggs I have a few OE's, EE's, a SLW, and a SFH! Very nice for my basket and my flock if some of those come through. My other batch is 8 Ameraucana eggs from Garry Farm purchased through the BST forum here. Very well packed and only paid for 6, all 8 look good for setting, too. Very pleased with those as far as shipping.

So I have 17 total to set on Saturday.

Getting soooooo egg-cited!